Squirt some oil in your rockers, no one will hear it slosh, and no more rust! -- Sez a Jim! or could it be Jimmy, or is it Jimster?

Peanuts! -- Sez a troubled King

And all the ghosts in the catacombs under the hotel rejoiced to Tubular Bells -- Sez a man in a Top Hat

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June 20, 2009 - This was my first Concours d' Elegance. Green as I am to this scene, what an experience to see so many proud Jaguar owners showing their love of the machine! Every cat has a life of its own. A Story, a Tragedy, a Miracle, a Mechanical epiphany, a Filial obedience.

What rationalization can we take in petting our cats?

Not many know that a car consumes more precious energy in its making, than in its travels. The ground is mined for the raw materials, then shipped, materials are refined, then shipped, then mixed, then shipped, then shaped, then shipped, then assembled, then shipped. So many hands in its path to our driveways. So many drops of precious thunder lizard legacy before we even turn the key. So when one sweats over a proud living cat to extend life, rescues a cat that may have seen other days, recycles a cat that has seen better days, breaths life into a cat that everyone thought had it's last; they are the greenest of the conservationist's crop. Hold your heads up high, knowing that a brand new gas sipper can not shine a green light as bright as the rescue that comes along to the many examples of sweat equity we observed in Mount Dora. Even, ahem, if the mileage we get is no where near those modern people movers.

We Recycle, and we are proud of it!

But wait, there is more! A Concours d' Elegance would never happen without catalysts.

My personal goals were simple, to talk to other owners, to share trials, tribulations and hints. To see what all the Concours hubbub was about first hand. Maybe to get some vindication for what little love I have for my own cat. Serendipity had delivered me an Anniversary and a Concours on the same week.

And Ginger tried to hint that the bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the back seat was a bribe. A quick thought dashed to whether to please my wife or please my desire to win win win; for after all, the wine was for our Anniversary, and not for the cat.

Others have their reasons, maybe some of the same, surely as many as different as the colours in a rainbow. None as dark as the one that darted through my mind.

But that is not going to bring all of these cat lovers together in unison of purpose, we have an organization to set a date, to set and arrange a place. We have fair-minded Judges to give our goals some focus. And because of passionate and fun-loving people, we make it an event. Finally, for those humble enough to admit it, we had a reward, or an award, at the end of the day to make up for baking in the near-record hot Mid-June sun.

An event it was, and what a lovely backdrop, what a delightful ending. Great Job to ALL!